Economic Commentary

Although markets have continued to move at a decent clip, investors have remained somewhat cautious due to the high level of political uncertainty. So far this year the economic climate has been favorable for U.S. stocks, and international holdings have finally begun to contribute in a meaningful way. This has been welcome news for globally diversified investors. When markets have made substantial forward prog…

As we move towards the second quarter of 2017 we continue to be optimistic, although this optimism is tempered a bit by the acceleration of the past several weeks. The US markets have continued to rally and both political and economic expectations are high. We believe that as this market matures, stock selection will become increasingly important and that longer-term, our global investments will begin to play …

Interest rates are again taking center stage as the global markets keep close watch on decisions being made by central banks around the world. By any measure, current global monetary policy is accommodative, making it relatively easy for economic expansion to occur. Lower interest rates mean lower borrowing costs for both businesses and consumers, driving capital expenditures and spending that may not have occurred o…

The early part of 2016 was dominated by concerns over the Chinese economy and global deflation. Oil prices were falling and putting pressure on global credit markets and the banking system causing concern over the health and stability of the global economy. During the last few months sentiment has shifted, we have seen energy prices rebound and the concerns which dominated the headlines throughout the beginning of th…

Recently, global markets have continued to struggle and positive returns have been illusive, regardless of the type or location of the investment. Although this hasn’t done anything positive for the balances in our portfolios, if we take a moment to consider the economic conditions that this period has helped foster, we begin to see what could turn out to be favorable environment for a widespread global resurgence. …

The volatility we have been experiencing since mid-August is a result of the confluence of a market waiting for a reason to correct, substantial negative information coming out of China, and seasonal low trading volume. We have been in a strong bull market domestically, especially in the world of growth oriented companies. Although we have had some small corrections along the way, all bull markets require a periodic …

Five months into 2015 and we still don’t have a whole lot to show for it in terms of positive market movement, but although things have been pretty lackluster year to date it looks as if the stage may be set for moderate growth over the second half of the year. There have been many factors this year that have kept us range bound. Global market turmoil and stimulus, a relentless rising dollar, and a stall in first qua…

The story so far this year has been one of volatility. The market remains uncertain about the direction of the price of energy and the cloudy future of the global economy at large. Domestic economic data and earnings although choppy, have generally been positive and overall conditions continue to remain favorable here at home. Last quarter we discussed oil, and the stimulative effect of a prolonged reduction in energ…

As we approach the end of 2014, economic data continues to support the notion that all is reasonably well with the domestic economy. Low interest rates, cheap commodity prices, stable housing, a falling unemployment rate, and strong retail sales set the stage for a US economy which looks to be continuing its broad-based expansion. Although the rest of the world seems to be lagging, the tailwinds of being both the wor…

The world seems awash in unrest. Territorial disputes and religious wars fill most newscasts and almost everywhere we look there is conflict. However, the market seems relatively immune to these issues. We believe that the market is looking past these distractions and seems to be more focused on low levels of inflation worldwide, and continuing to thrive on low interest rates. Many forecasts have been surprisingly wr…

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